Two Japanese tourists believed shot dead, chopped up

[Jollygoodfellow]

What next 

 

Two Japanese tourists were believed to have been murdered during a boat tour of small islands while visiting Palawan Province in the southwestern Philippines, police have said.

Officer Bernard Dalabajan of the Coron Municipal Station said Saturday that Yoshihiro Arai, 24, and Masaru Itani, 59, were believed to have been shot and killed on or near Cullion island, with their bodies cut into pieces and thrown into the sea.

Dalabajan was citing what police were told by the two Filipino drivers of the tour boat.

Arai and Itani had checked into the GMG Hotel Coron, Palawan on May 30, along with another 55-year-old Japanese national and 49-year-old Filipino translator before all four departed on an island-hopping boat tour.

According to the two boat drivers, at some point three other men joined the group and killed Arai and Itani during a stop on one of the islands.

“When they arrived at the island, they took them to an area where there are no people and shot them,” the drivers told police, according to Dalabajan.

Police were told that Arai was shot in the back of the head, before Itani was shot in the back and in the forehead. Police have released no details about the three men whom the drivers said killed the Japanese tourists.

Hotel staff reported the two missing on May 31, the day after the boat tour.

The third Japanese and Filipino translator also notified the authorities that the two men were missing, saying they had gone their separate ways at some point during the trip.

Dalabayan said the two boat drivers, the translator and the third Japanese man are all currently being held at the Coron Municipal Police Station.

He also said at least five search teams were looking for the bodies of the two missing tourists in the areas where the boat drivers had said to look.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/06/04/national/crime-legal/two-japanese-tourists-believed-shot-dead-chopped-philippines-police-say/#.WTPCv-t96Uk

[Dave Hounddriver]

LTJG Lonie Zamora, PCG Palawan spokesperson, said three suspects have come forward and confessed to killing Itani Masaru, 59, and Arai Yoshihiro, 24.

Zamora identified the suspects as Aladin Mohameran, Reynante Labampa and boat owner Michael "Don-don" Suangco.

. . .

another Japanese national, Hiroyuki Nagaham, a businessman from Puerto Princesa City, was invited at Coron police station after he was accused of masterminding the killings.

http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/06/03/17/3-men-confessed-to-killing-japanese-tourists-in-palawan-ph-coast-guard

 

I think that about sums it up.  Case closed.  Well done Sherlock Holmes.

Edited June 4, 2017 by Dave Hounddriver

[Jollygoodfellow]

7 minutes ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

I think that about sums it up.  Case closed.  Well done Sherlock Holmes.

Certainly gave no motive .

[Dave Hounddriver]

1 hour ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

Certainly gave no motive .

Reading between the lines, when they said "Japanese national, Hiroyuki Nagaham, a businessman" was the mastermind I figured it was being suggested that it was a business deal between the Japanese that had either gone sour or someone got greedy.  That'll do it.

[Jack Peterson]

 Not going to bother with this one I got other things to worry about just now, Like schools back next week

 OK, OK, I know

 

 

 

Edited June 4, 2017 by Jack Peterson

[Methersgate]

It's another odd one.

It would certainly be unusual for a disagreement over business between Japanese businessmen to end in murder. Even the yakuza tend to "ritualise" their violence.

[Dave Hounddriver]

6 hours ago, Methersgate said:

It would certainly be unusual for a disagreement over business between Japanese businessmen to end in murder.

It is unusual for disagreements over business between businessmen in many countries to end in murder.  Canadians and Americans don't do it in their own country either, and yet people come to the Philippines and think they can get away with murder.  Remember the case of the foreigner killing his business partner and burning his car in the Busay hills?  This is still the "wild west" to some folks.

[AlwaysRt]

Anyone else forcing themselves to remain respectful and resisting very inappropriate jokes based on the title of this thread? I am so ashamed of myself... 

[robert k]

3 hours ago, AlwaysRt said:

Anyone else forcing themselves to remain respectful and resisting very inappropriate jokes based on the title of this thread? I am so ashamed of myself... 

My first thought is it's hard to get good help these days...those bodies should have never been found much less this quickly.